[zniper2984]

i just get my hugo today but i have found some imprecise spot (see picture). Is this normal ? if this is unusual, can you told me what happen to my unit. (fyi SQ run perfect). Thanks...

i doubt that there already fake hugo out there.

 

[Kerouac]

crossfeed is a superfeature. I like the results.. Sometimes I feel it has narrow the soundstage but gives more bass.  
2 x 3.5 is too much, especially when no one can accepts alo 3.5x2 (hugo 3rd edition)

Yes, I also use crossfeed very often (most of the time on red)...
 

 
It would be nice if the 2x 3,5mm ports could be used for balanced mode (as it makes quite a difference in sq on my Pono player)
 
Anyway: I'm very happy with my Hugo the way it is, no complaints at all!

 

 

[seeteeyou]

  It would be nice if the 2x 3,5mm ports could be used for balanced mode (as it makes quite a difference in sq on my Pono player)

 
Not exactly balanced per se, with the right wiring maybe we could split the ground to L and R after adding a pair of AClear Porta?
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/745081/aclear-porta-nxt-2ak-review-improve-your-audio-quality-without-a-battery
http://www.head-fi.org/products/nakamura-aclear-porta-nxt-2ak
 

 
http://www.andaudio.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=115589&start=4750#p1097428
https://www.facebook.com/groups/695565413823775/permalink/873225542724427/
 

---

 
I guess that's somewhat similar to stuff like this when we've got something like Sony Z7 etc.
 

 

 

[JaZZ]

One reason why crossfeed isn't more popular may be the false expectations due to the misconception spread even by some audio reviewers – who apparently don't care much for it themselves.
 
It doesn't widen the soundstage, and it doesn't create true out-of head experience. What it does is narrowing the soundstage (so to speak) at low frequencies – by introducing crosstalk. This makes for a more natural perception of recordings made for speakers containing a lot of one-sided bass tones, leading to irritations when heard through headphones, since in reality the human ears don't ever get such informations. With speaker reproduction you're fine, though, as both ears capture almost the same low-frequency sounds, just like in reality.
 
So it's a very basic function without the potential to do much harm to accuracy. The pretended time delay at those low frequencies to recreate the delay between the ear closer to the sound source and the other one is more or less a myth (it does come for free, though, due to the accompanying phase shift) and doesn't play a part according to my experience (with my own implementation, which sounds roughly the same as Chord's). Most likely due to the fact that low frequencies contribute very little or nothing to sound-source locating.

 

[hainss]

I am a new owner of a Chord Hugo. Today I tried to play a SACD DSD with my SACD/CD Player, a Marantz SA8004. It is plugged in the optical out. CD play great but SACD can't play on my Hugo? What is the problem? Driver? 
 
I only hear a little difference between my stock cd player and the Hugo! I only got a red light for Sample frequency. With my setting, the Hugo sound like if it was only a different equalization. More clear, but really better... it's hard to say. 3K better no way... How can I hear a big difference?  

 

[Jeff Y]

  I am a new owner of a Chord Hugo. Today I tried to play a SACD DSD with my SACD/CD Player, a Marantz SA8004. It is plugged in the optical out. CD play great but SACD can't play on my Hugo? What is the problem? Driver? 
 
I only hear a little difference between my stock cd player and the Hugo! I only got a red light for Sample frequency. With my setting, the Hugo sound like if it was only a different equalization. More clear, but really better... it's hard to say. 3K better no way... How can I hear a big difference?  

Optical input is only up to 24/192.
Your CDP might only output 16/44.1 or your optical cable might only output 16/44.1. Either way, there must be some sorta bottleneck which cannot be the Hugo.
 
Give the Hugo some time to burn in and make sure you've got good headphones.
Also, I have a curiosity. How is there 3K difference between your Hugo and the CDP's price? Hugo's about $2400 so that means you got your CDP for free and it came with $600 of cash?

 

[ChordElectronics]

Hi Hainss,
     The digital output on an SACD player is normally PCM only and is probably set to 44KHz. It was a legal requirement of the SACD format that there was no digital output of DSD. If you want to listen to DSD then you need to download some tracks from one of the music sites.
 
Hugo should definitely sound better than the standard output from your SACD player but what you are listening to at the moment is probably just the CD layer on the SACD disc or the converted output.

 

[hainss]

I play my Hugo with a HD800 and Bryston BHA-1. The BHA-1 sound better to me than the 1/4 out of the Hugo. 
In CAN$ Hugo cost 3000$. 
I already had a cd player. So, Hugo don't play cd, so I need a cd player. Hugo, for me, it's only a component for upgrading the sound quality. I am not using digital music. I play more vinyl source and sometime cd source. I bought the Hugo for having a better experience with my collection of cd. I don't play very much my cd because my vinyl play clearly better... I has hope that a good DAC bring more love to my cd collection... 

 

[hainss]

  Hi Hainss,
     The digital output on an SACD player is normally PCM only and is probably set to 44KHz. It was a legal requirement of the SACD format that there was no digital output of DSD. If you want to listen to DSD then you need to download some tracks from one of the music sites.
 
Hugo should definitely sound better than the standard output from your SACD player but what you are listening to at the moment is probably just the CD layer on the SACD disc or the converted output.

I understand that my Marantz SA8004 it's not able to make a output signal when it play a SACD, because I have no sound with my Hugo when I try to play a SACD.

 

[JaZZ]

  I am a new owner of a Chord Hugo. Today I tried to play a SACD DSD with my SACD/CD Player, a Marantz SA8004. It is plugged in the optical out. CD play great but SACD can't play on my Hugo? What is the problem? Driver? 
 
I only hear a little difference between my stock cd player and the Hugo! I only got a red light for Sample frequency. With my setting, the Hugo sound like if it was only a different equalization. More clear, but really better... it's hard to say. 3K better no way... How can I hear a big difference?  

 
From the Marantz SA8004 user manual:
 
«Signals on the HD layer of the Super Audio CD and MP3 or WMA signals recorded onto the disc cannot be output in digital output.»
 
I agree with Jeff: Give the Hugo some time to break in and yourself some time to get familiar with the sound and the differences.
 

  I play my Hugo with a HD800 and Bryston BHA-1. The BHA-1 sound better to me than the 1/4 out of the Hugo.

 
The Bryston can't sound objectively better than the Hugo's headphone out, since it uses the very same signal meant to drive headphones and processes (amplifies) it further. But I understand that it adds some flesh to the relatively lean HD 800 – a beneficial coloration, so to speak, but at the expense of accuracy and transparency. I guess with your vinyl affection that isn't much of a concern to you, though.

 

 

[hainss]

   
From the Marantz SA8004 user manual:
 
«Signals on the HD layer of the Super Audio CD and MP3 or WMA signals recorded onto the disc cannot be output in digital output.»
 
I agree with Jeff: Give the Hugo some time to break in and yourself some time to get familiar with the sound and the differences.
 
 
The Bryston can't sound objectively better than the Hugo's headphone out, since it uses the very same signal meant to drive headphones and processes (amplifies) it further. But I understand that it adds some flesh to the relatively lean HD 800 – a beneficial coloration, so to speak, but at the expense of accuracy and transparency. I guess with your vinyl affection that isn't much of a concern to you, though.

 

Thanks for the information about the SACD optical output. 
 
I think I got more details with my BHA-1. 
Break in of the Hugo is already done. 
Maybe I'll hear a difference when I'll a better source with a better sample frequency out... It's mean that I'll need a new collection of digital music and a better digital player??

 

[Rearwing]

Dear Colleagues, does anyone know of a portable transport only solution to work with my Hugo? I currently use my Fiio X5 or my Colourfully C3, but I would like something that only has optical or coaxial out without the rest of the components in the 2 machines I use at present apart from a basic UI. Am I asking for something that doesn't exist? Should I just keep quiet and listen to the music?
 
Apologies for all the questions.

 

[JaZZ]

  Thanks for the information about the SACD optical output. 
 
I think I got more details with my BHA-1. 
Break in of the Hugo is already done. 
Maybe I'll hear a difference when I'll a better source with a better sample frequency out... It's mean that I'll need a new collection of digital music and a better digital player??

 
The Hugo sounds excellent with 44.1 kHz/16 bit recordings to my ears, so my answer would be no. Maybe your sonic ideal is just different from the Hugo's characteristic.
 
If the BHA-1 adds detail to the Hugo's output signal, it's added detail. Nothing wrong if you like it, though.

 

[icebear]

  Thanks for the information about the SACD optical output. 
 
I think I got more details with my BHA-1. 
Break in of the Hugo is already done. 
Maybe I'll hear a difference when I'll a better source with a better sample frequency out... It's mean that I'll need a new collection of digital music and a better digital player??

This is what marketing hype will tell ya

.
Listen to what your ears are telling you.
When I upgraded to my first external DAC, exasound E20MkIII it was a huge improvement over my CD player - which was a 25 year old Krell CD DSP - ok technology came a long way in that period... But to expect a night and day difference between your pretty much up to date Marantz SACD player and the external DAC (hugo), that migh be wishful thinking. Better invest in music on CD or SACD that can be had for 1/4 of the high rez files.

 

[JaZZ]

 
Dear Colleagues, does anyone know of a portable transport only solution to work with my Hugo? I currently use my Fiio X5 or my Colourfully C3, but I would like something that only has optical or coaxial out without the rest of the components in the 2 machines I use at present apart from a basic UI. Am I asking for something that doesn't exist? Should I just keep quiet and listen to the music?
 
Apologies for all the questions.

 
No apologies necessary!

But what are your expectations from a different source?